Access to Medicine in the Global Economy

International Agreements on Patents and Related Rights

Cynthia Ho

A single-volume introduction to how patents impact access to medicine accessible to readers with no prior knowledge of patent law or international obligations on patents while still providing new legal analysis for existing scholars in this area

Provides new legal analysis of current controversies under important international agreements (including TRIPS, ACTA and various FTAs) with real-world application and illustrations

Synthesizes existing law together with a new theory on patents to provide an enhanced understanding of past and future issues concerning access to medicine

Clear layouts, chapter summaries, and many cited references in each chapter ensure that the book is a useful and easy to use research tool

Provides clear and engaging explanations of controversial and often confusing issues using a variety of methods including case studies, frequently-asked questions (FAQ's), summary tables and diagrams

Promotes an understanding of international agreements that impact access to life-saving drugs (through patent and related rights

Access to Medicine in the Global Economy

International Agreements on Patents and Related Rights

Cynthia Ho

Description

Access to medicine is a topic of widespread interest. However, some issues that impact such access are presently inadequately understood. In particular, international laws require most nations to provide patents on drugs, resulting in premium prices that limit access. In Access to Medicine in the Global Economy, Professor Cynthia Ho explains such laws and their impact for a diverse group of readers, from scholars and policy makers to students in a variety of disciplines.

This book explains and interprets important international agreements, beginning with the landmark Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), but also including more recent free trade agreements and the pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Professor Ho addresses controversial topics, such as when a nation can provide a compulsory license, as well as whether a nation may suspend in-transit generic goods. The book also discusses how patent-like rights (such as "data exclusivity") prevent lower-cost generic medicines from entering into the marketplace and provides strategies for minimizing the harm of such rights. Clear explanations and diagrams, frequently asked questions, and case studies make these topics accessible to any reader. The case studies also provide a theory of patent perspectives that helps explain why access to medicine, though a universal goal, remains elusive in practice. The book aims to provide an important first step toward eventual workable solutions by promoting a better understanding of existing and future laws that impact access to medicine.

10. Suspensions of In Transit Generic Drugs: A Case Study of Competing Perspectives

11. A Historical View of Access to Medicine Through the Lens of Patent Perspectives

12. Looking Towards the Future

Access to Medicine in the Global Economy

International Agreements on Patents and Related Rights

Cynthia Ho

Author Information

Cynthia M. Ho is the Clifford E. Vickrey Research Professor of Law and the Director of the Intellectual Property Program at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Professor Ho is an expert in patent law and policy, especially the intersection between patent and health issues. She has authored law reviews and book chapters on these issues, and her work has been cited in scholarly publications, textbooks, and international reports. She is the author of Q&A: Patent Law (Lexis 2008) as well as several interactive patent lessons for the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Education, available at www.cali.org. Prior to joining the Loyola law faculty, Professor Ho was a patent lawyer at Fish & Neave, an intellectual property boutique law firm (now the Fish & Neave IP group of Ropes & Gray). She is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Access to Medicine in the Global Economy

International Agreements on Patents and Related Rights

Cynthia Ho

Reviews and Awards

"In recent years, scholars and policymakers have questioned whether patent law facilitates or impedes global access to medicines. To understand these debates, one needs to be aware of the commercial and regulatory environment in which pharmaceutical products are currently brought to market, and the international legal framework that determines the policy choices available under national patent (and allied) laws to ensure access to drugs. These are very complex issues. However, Professor Ho has, without sacrificing nuance, written a book that manages to analyze these issues with tremendous clarity and that offers important insights into current controversies about access to medicines." GRAEME B. DINWOODIE, Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, University of Oxford

"Cynthia Ho's Access to Medicine in the Global Economy offers both experts and novices a well-organized and highly readable survey that will make a real contribution to our understanding of the pressures on global public health providers under the TRIPS Agreement of 1994 and related Free Trade Agreements." JEROME H. REICHMAN, Bunyan S. Womble Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law

"Cynthia Ho provides an illuminating and accessible understanding of one of the more contentious issues in intellectual property and public health. She walks readers through the many challenges patents pose to access to medicines, presenting competing perspectives as she thoughtfully analyzes and assesses the contemporary dynamics of international patent controversies. Very well-researched and clearly written, this terrifi c book deserves a wide readership." SUSAN K. SELL, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Director, Institute of Global and International Studies, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.